But as PennLive’s Emily Previti reported Wednesday, the end may be in sight for Pennsylvania’s Capital City’s long-running financial soap opera, with Harrisburg receiver William Lynch’s expected announcement that deals have been reached to get the city out from under its crushing debt.

While details aren’t available, the general concepts behind the plan remain the same: The city will sell the incinerator, enter into lease deals putting the public parking garages in the hands of private operators who agree to share revenue with the municipality, and provide funds that will allow the city to operate and work its way back to a time when it can borrow money again.

If this works, and it’s still up to a judge and City Council to approve the deal reached by Lynch and his team, the plan will avert a bankruptcy filing and keep Harrisburg out of the ranks of municipal ignominy that include Stockton, Ca. and Detroit.

That’s great news for city residents, who are individually shouldering $6,970 of a staggering debt that includes $345 million for the city’s incinerator. It is also very good news for Dauphin County residents who are on the hook for part of the debt as well as our entire region which benefits greatly from a healthy core city.

The fine print of the agreement isn’t expected until Aug. 7, when Council returns from its summer recess to introduce the legislation needed to facilitate the deal. It is now time for Council members to put aside their sometimes petty and contrarian interests and get on board with this path toward a sustainable future.

One such piece of enabling legislation extends the city’s 2 percent earned income tax. Another pertains to lower-cost union contracts.

The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s long-awaited auction of the Old West artifacts acquired by former Mayor Steven R. Reed that netted the city about $2.7 million.

Give outgoing Mayor Linda Thompson credit. While voters strongly felt it was time for a change, she nonetheless was at the helm and helped lead the charge to help save her city. Thompson fought bankruptcy and worked well with Lynch, letting him take the steps needed to get the city where it is today.

Again, Harrisburg is a long way from financial stability. But Wednesday’s announcement, coupled with the Wild West artifacts auction that symbolically closed the door on an embarrassing chapter in Harrisburg’s history, are reasons for real encouragement.